''Windy City Times'' is an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

newspaper in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

that published its first issue on September 26, 1985.

History

''Windy City Times'' was founded in 1985 by Jeff McCourt, Bob Bearden, Drew Badanish and

Tracy Baim Tracy Baim is a Chicago-based LGBT journalist, editor, author, and filmmaker. She is also the publisher of the Chicago Reader newspaper. Biography Baim’s degree from Drake University in 1984 was in journalism. Career Baim came to the Reader ...

, who started Sentury Publications to publish the paper. In 1987, Baim left Sentury Publications to found a new newspaper called ''Outlines''. ''WCT'' and ''Outlines'' were the two primary LGBT newspapers in the region for more than 12 years. In 2000, Baim purchased Windy City Times from McCourt, and merged the two publications. In 2018, Baim became Publisher of the Chicago Reader and remains as owner of Windy City Media Group. Terri Klinsky is now Publisher, Andrew Davis is Executive Editor, Matt Simonette is Managing Editor, Kirk Williamson is Art Director and Ripley Caine is Business Manager. Long-time writers include

Rex Wockner Rex Wockner (born 1957) is an American freelance journalist who has reported news for the gay press and mainstream periodicals since 1985. His work has appeared in more than 325 gay publications in 38 countries. Career Wockner earned a bachelor ...

, Yvonne Zipter, Bob Roehr, Richard Knight Jr., Jonathan Abarbanel. Jean Albright is Director of New Media and Circulation. McCourt died in 2007. ''Windy City Media Group'' announced on Sept. 9, 2020 that, as of Sept. 30, 2020, the biweekly print version will cease. News and feature coverage will continue digitally at www.windycitymediagroup.com. The site has archived 70,000 articles from Windy City Times and other previous products including ''Nightspots''—a biweekly, four-color, glossy entertainment guide—and ''Identity'', a monthly online magazine. WCMG has also produced a twice-weekly podcast, ''Windy City Queercast'', online videos, and a weekly e-newsletter. All products are now archived at windycitytimes.com. ''Windy City Times'' is a member of the

National Gay Newspaper Guild The National Gay Newspaper Guild is an organization of LGBT newspapers located in the United States. Through Rivendell Media, the guild gathers statistics on the readership of the member publications. Member publications *''Bay Area Reporter'' * ...

, and has received numerous honors for its work, both from journalism organizations and from the LGBT community. Awards include from the

National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, is an American professional association dedicated to unbiased coverage of LGBTQ issues in the media. It is based in Washington, D.C., and the membership consists primarily of journalists, students, edu ...

, the Peter Lisagor Awards, and the Studs Terkel Award for Baim. Among groups honoring WCMG and Baim:

Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chic ...

;

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

of Illinois;

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

;

NOW Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

;

March on Washington The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...

Chicago Committee; Dignity/Chicago; Affinity; Greater Chicago Committee; Association of Latin Men in Action; and more. In 2017, journalist Gretchen Rachel Hammond was removed from her job after she published a story about three LGBT women who were expelled from a Gay Pride march for carrying a rainbow flag featuring a

Jewish Star The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

. Shortly after, she was hired as a reporter for ''Tablet''. In 2021, the newspaper won the Barbara Gittings Award for Excellence in LGBTQ Media at the 32nd GLAAD Media Awards.

References

External links

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Windy City Media GroupWindy City Times Twitter
{{Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame Free newspapers LGBT culture in Chicago LGBT-related newspapers published in the United States Newspapers published in Chicago Newspapers established in 1985 1985 establishments in Illinois Inductees of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame